Although there were only five aspirants for this year’s edition of the Villoo C. Poonawalla Pune Derby (Gr.1), the career records of the three runners — Beast Mode, Iron Mirage, and Jaandaar, spiked the racegoers’ interest in this event. Mansingh Jadhav’s candidate Beast Mode and Pesi Shroff’s ward Jaandaar, both sporting the colours of Mr Vijay B. Shirke, and Prasanna Kumar-mentored Iron Mirage had their individual set of followers in the betting arena, which inevitably made Jaandaar an attractive betting prospect at 5 to 4 against.

The betting element aside, most spectators had assembled at the Pune racecourse to witness whether Jaandaar could tackle Beast Mode and Iron Mirage, who came into this event with impressive career records and, certainly, were no pushovers. The public, which watched the race avidly, was regaled by Jaandaar’s stupendous show as the boisterous bay colt produced another magnificent performance in the hands of jockey Vivek G. to keep his unbeaten record intact.

Iron Mirage, who relishes running in the front, went straight down to business when the gates flew open for the mile-and-a-quarter endeavour with Beast Mode, Avener, Jaandaar, and Invincible Force racing behind in a single file. Beast Mode ranged alongside Iron Mirage and overhauled him at the top of the straight as Trevor Patel went into overdrive astride the second favourite. Vivek also got busy atop Jaandaar and tried to bring his mount through the gap between Iron Mirage and Avener. It was a risky move as A. Sandesh aboard Avener tried to demonstrate his horsemanship momentarily when attempting to deny Jaandaar the clear run sought by Vivek.

Jaandaar, however, refused to be bogged down and shot through to reach the haunches of Beast Mode. Vivek then reminded Jaandaar of his task ahead and the colt picked up speed to assume command in the final furlong. Vivek, however, was mindful of the fact at this stage that danger was lurking behind as Sandesh drove Avener relentlessly. Jaandaar stuck to his task to earn the fifth career success in as many starts, a tribute to his master’s zealous work.

That said, a few strides before Jaandaar hit the wire, Avener shifted in slightly under pressure and went down by three-quarters of a length. The slender margin of victory achieved by Jaandaar fuelled speculation that he lacks stamina, but it remains to be seen whether the colt is bred to stay or not. Nevertheless, Jaandaar did perform out of his skin to avert the threat posed by Adhirajsingh Jodha-saddled Avener, who lives to fight for another day. Beast Mode finished three lengths behind the runner-up, while Iron Mirage lost pace in the home stretch to finish a distant fourth.

Jaandaar, who is sired by Earthlight and out of the Irish broodmare Dance Awhile, is the prized property of Mr & Mrs Vijay B. Shirke and Mr Jay V. Shirke. He was bred at the Sohna Stud Farm Private Ltd.